Ford Mustang waiting list out to almost 2017

Australians who order a brand-new Ford Mustang today won’t get their car until the very end of 2016, the pony car’s manufacturer says.

Ford Australia president and CEO Graeme Whickman told us pre-orders for the iconic sports car – which is on track to launch locally in December – has now stretched out close to 12 months.

“We have quite a long waiting list now,” Whickman said. “At this rate we’re out to October/November of next year in terms of the wait list, which is positive to have a wait list for a Ford product, but it does present a determined effort to make sure we don’t anger anybody by having a waiting list.”

“We’re around the 3000 mark at the moment,” he said. “I don’t know where that will go.

“We haven’t advertised the vehicle, nobody’s driven the vehicle, we are months away from actually having the thing in the market, so who knows where it goes?”

Australian Mustang pre-orders are well ahead of those in the UK, with Ford announcing late last month it had taken almost 2000 orders in that market.

So far in Australia, 5.0-litre V8 pre-orders are easily outpacing orders for the 2.3-litre four-cylinder EcoBoost, while the automatic is proving more popular than the manual, and the Fastback coupe body style is well clear of the convertible. Race Red is by far the most popular colour among local pre-order customers.

The Ford Mustang Fastback EcoBoost six-speed manual kicks off the range at $44,990 plus on-road costs and the equivalent V8 costs from $54,990. The six-speed auto adds $2500 to both, while the convertible body style adds another $6500 on top of the auto, making the flagship V8 drop-top a $63,990 proposition.

Whickman isn’t surprised by the early demand for V8 Mustangs, but believes EcoBoost sales will pick up once customers get the chance to drive the car.

“There is a [V8] bias at the first instance,” he said.

“Having said that though, I think the EcoBoost will surprise a lot of people given its sophistication. There’s a lot of technology in that vehicle, and you’re getting both power and economy in that vehicle at the same time, a different driving flavour to the vehicle.

“I think it will appeal to a lot of people, I think it will surprise some people, but at the start time [we’re seeing] more V8s.”